The best lies they told as children

It was the first day of third grade. After a few hours
in our homeroom, my classmates and I were herded down the hall to
science class. Once we’d settled in, the teacher who I’ll call Mr. X
since I’ve blanked on his name asked us to go around and introduce
ourselves. I was an anxious child who lived in constant fear of doing
something to embarrass myself in front of a teacher, so when we got to
me, I mumbled nervously, "I’m Cassie." But Mr. X, who was on the other
side of the room, didn’t quite hear me and so he confirmed, "Jason?" I
don’t know the exact calculations my 8-year-old brain did in that
moment, but I somehow concluded that it was easier to pretend to be a
person of AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT GENDER than to correct the teacher.
"Yes. I’m Jason," I replied with a straight face, even as I felt my soul
crumple into a tiny raisin of shame…